Press review // The Republic of Moldova will face the same problems related to disinformation and hybrid actions in 2025
Several publications in the Republic of Moldova are summarizing the year 2024 in various fields and presenting forecasts for the coming year.
During 2024, the Republic of Moldova advanced on the path to joining the European Union, despite the major challenges caused by the war launched by the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the hybrid attacks against the country. This was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov, in an interview with Moldova1 TV. The official noted that in 2025, the state will face the same problems related to disinformation and other hybrid actions. In parallel with the technical processes related to the European path, Chisinau is working on fulfilling the conditions to start discussions on the disbursement of money from the 1.8 billion euro Economic Growth Plan, said Cristina Gherasimov. Currently, the Republic of Moldova is in the process of finalizing the reform agenda and identifying priority sectors for investment, the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration said in an interview with Moldova 1 TV. The sooner these funds arrive, the sooner investments will be made that will bring not only long-term but also immediate economic advantages and benefits, said the official from Chisinau.
The path of a fake, headlines Ziarul de Garda, explaining how pro-Russian Telegram channels have amplified the lie about Maia Sandu's "military plans" in the Transnistrian region. The author of the article notes that in recent days, Russian influence agents and propagandists have been increasingly accusing the leadership of the Republic of Moldova, stating that President Maia Sandu allegedly requested the preparation of a military plan to take control of the Transnistrian region and "eliminate" Russian peacekeeping troops from the region. At the same time, propagandists create the impression that the European Union would tacitly support such a plan and that it would not oppose new crises in Russia's sphere of interest, writes Ziarul de Gardă. Initially, the Russian Tass Agency had almost 62 thousand views on Telegram and was taken over by several pro-Russian Telegram channels. The Russian agency Russia Today also shared the information, the post had over 222 thousand views, while a post by RIA Novosti had over 633 thousand views and was again shared by a number of Telegram channels. Later, the text of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service was also taken over by the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who redistributed the message on a number of Telegram channels, including Mamalîga i tokana and Gagauznews.
The State Information Agency MOLDPRES publishes an article with the Minister of Environment, Sergiu Lazarencu, who says that the establishment of an integrated air quality management system is one of the main achievements in the field by 2024, following the requirements of the European Union. Referring to the country's ecological agenda for the coming year, the government representative said that actions are being taken to develop the air quality monitoring infrastructure, including the expansion and improvement of pollution monitoring networks, with the integration of new air quality monitoring stations and real-time reporting of pollution levels. For this purpose, the procurement of 11 automatic monitoring stations with the support of the EU-UNDP project is planned. Also, environmental projects are to be implemented with external support to support the transition to a green economy, resilience to climate change and biodiversity conservation. All these aspects are to be discussed at the meeting on the bilateral screening with the European Commission on Chapter 27 "Environment" at the end of June - beginning of July 2025 in Brussels, the Minister of Environment stated in an interview with Moldpres.
"Salaries in euros seem high on paper, but in practice they are rapidly losing ground", is a finding of economist Veaceslav Ioniță, writes IPN agency . The expert emphasizes that in just four years, the purchasing power of the euro in Moldova has decreased by over 70%. What you bought with 100 euros in 2020 today you buy with 170 euros, says Ioniță. According to the economist, a salary of 1,000 euros received today is equivalent to 590 euros in 2020. In 2000, when Moldovans abroad sent 100 euros, this money had impressive purchasing power, Veaceslav Ioniță recalls. In 2020, to buy the same amount of goods, 240 euros were needed, and in 2024, the same goods can be paid for with 400 euros, says the economist. The expert explains this phenomenon by the increase in prices in recent years, as a result of which the value of money has decreased.
